The director of The Hangover, Todd Phillips now brings us Due Date, starring Robert Downey Jnr, and Zach Galifianakis.
I went to see the film last week, and was very impressed. People will always compare this to The Hangover as it is from the same director and also stars Zach Galifianakis. The direction and the soundtrack of the movie was very similar to The Hangover, and Zach's character (Ethan) was much the same as Alan, just a little more camp.
To be honest, when I saw the trailer for this movie, I felt that it would be full of laughs, but a definite second in comparison to The Hangover. My prediction was correct, but Due Date definitely did not disappoint. It wasn't trying to be The Hangover, and why try? Several films have been compared to it and nothing quite comes close. I look forward to seeing what is to come from The Hangover 2.
Due Date is about two very different men that are brought together through the strict (and in some ways ridiculous) air travel rules in place within The United States at the moment. They are both put on the no fly list, and have to get across America via alternative modes of transport.
Downey Jnr's character, Peter Highman is trying to get across the country in time for the birth of his first child. He is a high strung architect, and a bit of a snob to be honest. He loses his wallet through the flight problems, and so has no money, no drivers licence, no means to travel. This is when Ethan rolls by, a man who to be fair, can be blamed for Peter's problems on the plane. He is an aspiring actor who is travelling to Hollywood after attending his father's funeral.
The two characters are very different, but the chemistry between them worked very well. Like in The Hangover Galifianakis' character had some very odd mannerisms, which Downey Jnr's character was able to play off of. This made for a very entertaining film, and watching the two "chalk and cheese" characters build a friendship gave the film a good plot.
I think that this film will give me a lot more laughs when I see it a few more times. This is the case for a lot of comedies I watch, as I pick up more things that are funny the more I watch them. This will be a great film for DVD, to invite people round to watch.
The two starring actors deliver lines well on this one, although it is starting to look like Zach Galifianakis is a bit of a one dimensional actor. This isn't a problem at the moment as what he does is hilarious and not quite like any other actor out there. However, people may get bored of this and want to see a bit more variety in his acting.
He can take a leaf from Downey Jnr's book. He is currently filming Sherlock 2, a serious film with a humourus twist, demanding an actor with great versatility. Downey Jnr has also proved in Tropic Thunder and now Due Date that he can be quite the funny man.
I really enjoyed this film and would recommend it to all of my friends. If you liked The Hangover, I'm sure you will like this one.
